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Percy rolled onto his side and pulled his pillow over his head, accepting that this was one of those nights where sleep wouldn’t come. It happened more often these days, when the last line of the Oracle’s prophecy rang a little sharper in his mind.
He groaned and sat up, raking his fingers through his curls and trying to stave off the memories of Luke standing over him in the forest, ready to deliver a potentially fatal blow. The sword in the older boy’s hand having the ability to open portals.
That’s honestly what terrified Percy the most. Sure, Luke’s attempt to kill, or at least, seriously maim him, was scary in the moment, but that hadn’t been what he wanted to do. He’d wanted to recruit him. And he’d definitely felt guilty looking at Annabeth when she’d intervened.
Maybe he’d come back and try to make things right in his own twisted way.
Percy’s stomach churched at the thought of Luke coming through the forest and grabbing Annabeth, taking her with him to wherever he’d been hiding out.
He huffed frustratedly as he fell back onto his bed with a thud, rubbing his hands over his face to try and get the pervasive thought out of his mind.
A knock at his door made him shoot back up, hackles raised once again. He grabbed his sword from his side table, keeping his thumb over the cap.
He held his breath as he pulled the door open and peered outside…
Only to find the porch empty.
Percy knew the answer immediately. “Annabeth,” he scolded to the air, but he couldn’t help the relieved sigh he added to it, slipping his pen into his pajama pocket.
The air rippled as the girl pulled the Yankee’s cap off her head and turned visible.
Percy’s heart beat stuttered a little for a completely different reason than fear. That always happened when Annabeth showed up with a new look unexpectedly.
She was in her own pajamas. Black satin night shirt, hair in two big Afro puffs, big eyes shining in the dark, and a smile on her lips. “Hey, Seaweed Brain.” She tucked her hat in the waistband of her shorts.
“What’re you doing here?” Percy looked around to make sure the Harpies weren’t coming around and tried to usher her inside so that they wouldn’t get in trouble. Although, if they were caught in his cabin alone, they’d arguably be in more trouble.
Annabeth, instead, pulled him out of his cabin, grabbing his hand. “Come on, I want to show you something.”
“Whoa,” Percy stumbled after her, snatching the pair of flip flops from the shoe rack by the door. “This couldn’t wait till the morning?” he asked, letting the levity in his tone be apparent so that she wouldn’t take his annoyance seriously.
“Shhh,” she put a finger to her lips, grinning. “It’s a surprise.”
Annabeth led him past the dining pavilion, hand still clasped in his. He hoped that his palms weren’t actually as sweaty as they felt.
They walked along the beach, the sand soft and cool, slipping under the the soles of his feet. In retrospect, being the son of Poseidon made the most sense. He always loved the beach, even the way the sand prickled his skin.
“Ta-da!” Annabeth spun around to look at him when they’d reached a blue and grey checkered blanket laid nicely over the ground. She stretched her arms out in a show-and-tell way.
He raised eyebrows, eyeing the blanket and then looking back at her, hoping that the darkness covered the slow creeping blush on his face. “What is this?”
“Well, you asked me what I was reading the other day and I tried to show you but you didn’t get it. So, I thought, this would be a good way for you to learn about the constellations!” Her smile was bright, lighting up her whole face.
Percy was a little dumbfounded. It had been yesterday that he’d found her reading in the strawberry fields and asked what the book was about. She had explained that it was about astrology and tried to read the description of the constellations to him, but without a visual aid, Percy couldn’t picture it. He didn’t think Annabeth would take it upon herself to find another way to teach him.
“We don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Annabeth fiddled with hem of her shirt. “It’s just—it’s good to know them. Thalia used to show them to me and tell me the stories behind them whenever I couldn’t sleep.”
Percy studied her face. The way she chewed on the corner of her lip while she waited for his response. But, it was hard to form words for how he was feeling.
He couldn’t believe he’d ever thought she wouldn’t be his best friend.
“This is really nice, Annabeth,” he reached down and grabbed her hand. “Thanks.”
She looked up at him and Percy was once again struck by how pretty she was.
After a second, Annabeth breathed in sharply and turned to the blanket, pulling her hand away from his. “After you?” she gestured from him to sit down.
Percy smiled to himself as they both laid down, facing the clear sky and the smattering of bright stars against the dark purple sky. His eyes traced her side profile.
“Well,” Annabeth began, leaning towards him, her finger pointing to a star, causing him to turn his attention back to the sky. “That’s the North Star. Pretty important. It’s part of the Big Dipper.”
“Yeah, I know that one,” Percy teased, stealing another glance at her. “Learned it in third grade.”
“Oh okay, so you wouldn’t mind pointing it out for me then, would you?” she turned to stare at him.
Their faces were so close to each other he could make out the beauty mark on her chin even in the dark.
“Nah, you go ahead,” he tried to speak as nonchalantly as he could.
Annabeth laughed, breaking their eye contact, and he smiled at the sound. He really liked hearing her laugh.
She continued on with the other constellations and Percy occasionally added some commentary of his own that made her chuckle.
He continued to like hearing her laugh.
It made Chiron’s stern face staring down at them in the morning worth it.